The present credit card environment and systems have the following shortfalls:                When a credit card is reported lost or stolen by a holder he or she has to contact the company or organisation that issued the card to cancel the card in order to prevent illegal transactions. Cancellation may not occur immediately if the holder is unaware that his or her card is missing.        The present security measures undertaken by credit card companies and/or organisations through the use of “smart card” technology are inadequate to prevent fraud. Similarly the use of holographic images on credit cards does not eliminate fraud either.        Use of a signature as a validation control may be overlooked and can be forged.        The technology behind current credit cards is outdated and not suitable for a secure transaction via the Internet.        It does not prevent hackers who penetrate “secure websites” to make use of credit card details for fraud.        Giving a merchant credit card details is like giving him or her a “signed blank cheque”. Credit companies or organisations are not efficient when dealing with insincere merchants.        The customer must rely on trusting the merchant not to misuse the credit card details.        
The present invention seeks to provide an electronic credit card that attempts to overcome the shortfalls of the present credit card system.